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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. tear — to rip
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. drill — a practice
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. hand — help
  7. drill — army training
  8. tear — from crying
  9. scale — size or range
  10. foot — a measure
  11. snap — to click
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. object — an aim
  14. branch — a division
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. tear — from crying
  22. object — a thing
  23. object — to protest
  24. branch — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com